


i'll stand by you

by sunshineflying



Series: All That I Have Verse [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family Fluff, Fluff, Kid Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-20 23:42:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14272122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineflying/pseuds/sunshineflying
Summary: Written for a prompt on Tumblr. Set in the All That I Have verse but can be read alone. Ben and Rey's daughter is growing up fast. Here's a peek into their lives as she experiences some very exciting firsts, like words and steps.





	i'll stand by you

**Author's Note:**

> Tooth rotting fluff. Enjoy.

Chandrila is usually so calm, so temperate. Which is exactly why the weather decides to turn to rain and thunderstorms on the day Rey and Ben’s toddler Padmé is her most restless, of course. She’s fussy, wants to go for a walk - her favorite thing these days - even though she can’t actually walk on her own. No, usually she rests in the baby sling, or Rey holds her hands as Padmé toddles along the boardwalk by the sea. 

But they can’t do that, not today. Not with the rain pouring down, trickling through the trees surrounding their cottage, falling in sheets on the sea, speckling its surface. 

And Padmé doesn’t like that one bit.

“We can walk inside, Maymay,” Rey says, using her pet name for Padmé. 

Padmé grumbles in response, something unintelligible but very opinionated all the same. Ben leans in the doorway, his hair damp from his shower, a cup of caf still in hand. He’d gotten up with Padmé early that morning, allowing Rey to sleep in a little. 

Rey settles Padmé on her little chubby, unsteady feet and holds her hands. Padmé bounces a couple of times, but then gurgles and decides she doesn’t want to stand. “We should try to teach her to walk,” Ben says suddenly, tilting his head to one side and studying Padmé closely. “She’s old enough.”

As she kneels down next to Padmé, Rey looks up at Ben and asks, “Do you think?”

“Yeah, probably,” he nods. Ben watches as Padmé sits on the floor, grabbing at her toes, mumbling to herself. Or to them. It’s hard to tell sometimes. He sets his caf aside and wanders into the room to join them. “We can try.”

Rey nods. 

This feels an awful lot like her baby is growing up.

It scares her, just a little.

Ben kneels down a few feet away from Rey and Padmé, which gets Padmé’s attention right away. Ben can sense Rey’s unease, and to be honest, he knows that as soon as they teach Padmé to walk, they’ll have another handful to deal with because she’ll be able to get into  _ everything _ . 

Padmé studies her father for a moment, gurgling something. She reaches out for him, and Ben’s first instinct is to reach out for her to pick her up. He resists the urge, and instead just smiles at Padmé as Rey helps her up to her feet. “Can you walk to daddy?” Rey asks gently.

She helps Padmé steady herself, and reaches out with her arms as their toddler starts to take little steps, testing out her balance. When Rey lets go of Padmé’s hands, she stands there for a moment wobbling. “That’s right,” Ben encourages. “Right here.” He holds out his hands to her.

Padmé smiles, a little string of drool dripping down her chin. 

She lifts her right foot and promptly falls on her bum. Her eyes go wide and she looks up at Ben, alarmed. “It’s okay,” Rey coos right away, reaching out to pick her up. “Let’s try again, huh?”

Rey lifts Padmé back to her feet and holds her waist this time, instead of her hands. “That’s it,” Rey smiles. “Walk to daddy. You can do it!”

“Dada!” Padmé shouts.

Ben’s eyes go wide and Rey’s eyes snap up to his immediately.

“She said dada!” Rey proclaims. Padmé has never done that before.

For Ben, it’s like being hit with a blaster, but instead of the pain, it’s a heavy push of pride knocking the wind out of him. That’s the first time his daughter has ever called him that, and the moment feels… Ben wants to remember it forever, wants it etched into his memory, clear as day. This little human, this beautiful girl he and Rey made in the most dire of circumstances, has no idea of how she came to be. She just looks at Ben with those big brown eyes, smiles and drools and chews on her fingers, and now she’s calling him  _ Dada _ .

Not a soul in the galaxy would believe it, he’s sure, but as it turns out - the one way to make his cold heart melt is with a child. Padmé has no idea what she’s just done, but it’s something major, something earth-shattering for Ben.

He’s fairly certain nothing in life will ever make him feel as whole as this moment.

“Padmé, darling,” Rey says again. “Walk to daddy. Go give him a hug.”

“Dada!” Padmé echoes again. 

Rey helps her lift one foot, and very gently holds her waist as Padmé takes a step. And then another step. And it takes all the self-control in Ben to keep from reaching out and sweeping her up into a hug right then and there. He could reach her; he’s not that far away. But something tells him that Padmé is going to do this, that she  _ can _ do this. That she’ll be walking soon.

Padmé sticks both of her arms out at her sides and wobbles a little, but she doesn’t fall. Rey’s fingers are gentle, barely holding on, as Padmé takes another step, and then another. Ben’s fingers brush Rey’s as he hovers his hands near his daughter, waiting to see if she’ll do it. 

She toddles forward and nearly faceplants, but Ben catches her before there’s any damage done. “Good try,” he reassures her, pulling her to his chest for a hug.

He’s so overwhelmed already, just at the sound of Padmé saying his name. Rey eagerly watches them, smiles as Padmé indulges her father in a hug for just a moment before kicking him rather roughly in the gut.

She’s ready to try to walk again. 

Ben sets her down gently, his large hands completely encircling her waist as he helps her stand. “Walk to mommy?” he prompts her.

Rey smiles - beams, really - her dimples making Ben’s heart do something funny. Rey has no idea the effect she has upon him, even still. “Come here Maymay!” Rey smiles, holding out her hands.

Padmé hums, the closest she’s gotten to saying Mama, but Rey doesn’t seem bothered by it. Padmé takes one step, and then another, and Ben’s hands leave her waist. He’s half-tempted to use the force, to make it look like Padmé is walking when really, he’s still supporting her, but he refrains. He wants her to do this. To learn. Not just how to walk but how to get back up if she fails.

But this time, she doesn’t fail. Padmé puts one foot in front of the other until she walks right into her mother and buries her face against her chest in a hug. Rey squeezes her and coos about how proud she is, and Ben honestly can’t believe this is his life now. That he somehow earned this moment.

Rey looks up at Ben, sensing his disbelief and his shock, so of course she helps Padmé stand up and face him once more. “Dada!” Padmé shrieks, unprompted this time.

“Yes, sweetheart,” Rey nods, kissing her daughter’s cheek as she helps Padmé prepare to walk to him. “Daddy. Go give daddy a big kiss!”

Padmé eagerly walks over to him this time, wobbling on unsteady feet. She doesn’t fall, though. She can keep herself upright long enough to walk the short distance between her parents. When she reaches Ben, he pulls her up to his chest again in a big hug. He looks down at her, unable,  _ unwilling _ , to fight a smile. Padmé smiles and pats his cheek with a drool-covered hand and he leans down to kiss her forehead. “Good job, Padmé,” he whispers to her. Rey crawls across the floor to them and sits next to Ben. She lays her head on his shoulder and smiles at Padmé as Ben says, “I’m so proud of you.”

“Dada,” Padmé repeats again.

“Yes,” Ben nods. He kisses her forehead again and holds her so warmly, protectively. “I’m your daddy. I love you.”


End file.
